Grain-cleaning machine



'Mays, 1928. 1,668,629

' W. H. CHURCH GRAIN CLEANING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lrweni'or W.H.Ghurch W. H. CHURCH GRAIN CLEANING MACHINE May 8, 1928.

Filed June 15 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented May 8, 1928.

UNITED STATES V 1,668,629 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. CHURCH, CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA.

GRAIN-CLEANING MACHINE.

Application filed June 15, 1926, Serial No. 116,216, and in- Canada April 30, 1926.

The invention relates to improvements in grain cleaning machines and an object of the invention is to provide a machine particularly adapted for efiiciently separating b weed seeds from wheat and to construct the machine also such that with slight modifications it can be utilized to separate wild oats and other weed seeds from wheat.

A further object of the invention is to W provide a machine which can be constructed in a simple, durable and inexpensive manner and which is arranged so that the drum forming screens thereof can be readily dismounted to permit of the use of screens 13 havin various types of mesh. 7

A urther object of the invention is to provide a machine wherein the grain is separated b an inclined revolving perforated drum, t e drum being so mounted that it 20 can be adjusted to vary the inclination thereof and the interior of the drum being so arranged that the gravitating grain is spread within the drum to give the weed seeds every opportunity to escape through 5 the perforations.

With the above more important objects in View, the invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter more particularly described,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of the complete machine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view longi- 3;; tudinally and centrally through the same.

Fig. 3 is a front end view of the machine with the driving wheel removed.

' Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view at H Figure 2.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view at 55 Figure 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a modified type of drum.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view through a 4., portion of the drum appearing in Figure 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the portion of the upper end of the casing.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view through the lower end of the modified type of ma- 5U chine and showing the additional discharge spout provided.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The machine presents a more or less cyndric l We p casi g 1 having he und r the drum.

a centrally disposed shaft 6 which carries a drum 7 which has the lower end thereof open and the upper end thereof closed by a cap 8 which presents an inwardly extending flange 9 surrounding the feed opening 10 to The lower half of the casing carries a guard plate 11 which overlies the flange 9 and prevents the grain which might work up in the drum from becoming lodged between the cap and the end of the casing.

On the shaft I mount a plurality of similar arresting plates 12 which are permanently fastened to the shaft in spaced relation and which have arcuate or rim portions 13 and 14k concentric to the shaft and cut away side portions as indicated at 15 and 16. The plates are placed on the shaft so that they alternate, that is, such that the cut away portions of any one plate are opposite the rim portions of the next adjacent plate.

The plates 12 carry four equi-spaced longitudinally extending bars 17 18, 19 and 20 set on edge and having the inner edges permanently Welded or otherwise fastened to the rim portions of the plates. The rim portions of the plates and these bars form a rigid skeleton structure on which I mount and to which I attach the screen sections 21 which are all. similar.

There are four screen sections employed and the sections are each fitted at their edges with outstanding flanges 22 and 23 and the flanges of adjacent sections are demountably fastened together by suitably located bolts 24 passing through such flanges and through the intervening bar 18, 19, 20 or 21 as the case may be. The screen sections are curved concentric to the shaft and lie on the rim portions of the plates and when applied they form the perforated drum hereinbefore mentioned, the drum having a length somewhat less than the length of the casing in which it revolves.

After th c ew sections have been. lmlted iirce flow at these points.

in place,the cap 8 hereinbefore mentioned is applied'on theupper end and it will also be observed that the lowermost end of the drum overlies the upper end of the spout so that all the material retained within the drum is discharged into :the spoutl). The rim portions of the plates are radially slit as indicated at 2'5'to provide vanes .or paddles 26 and the paddles are bent in the i'nanner best shown in Figure 5 so that in the rotation of the drum they will act to work the grain upwardly within the drum, that is, in the opposite direction to that which it naturally moves under the action of gravity. 1 T

Toeach screen section, I secure in' any suitable manner longitudinally extei'iding and radially disposed heaters 27 which are positioneiil in respect to the openii'igs and 16 in the manner best shown in Figure st which is connected by the well known type of universal joint 3l to the upper 'endof the shaft 6. A driving wheel 32 issecured to the outer end of the shaft andpower -1nay be applied to thewheel in any suitable manner in order-to lGilil'tQ'tllO drum.

The bracket supports the lower end. of a feed chute 33, the upper end oi. which carries ahopper 34 into which the grain to be cleaned is fed. The chute 33 pasrcs through a. suitable opening 35 provided in the cud ot the 7 ing 10 into tlM-PlrltGllOl. ol? the drum.

rg aiulthicugh the pen- The casing can be mounted on any suitable support, provided that one end is plvotally mounted and the other end is adjuslaliily suspended. 111 the present instance, I have shown suitably braced corner legs 37 arrangedfinfront andreaivpairs, the upper ends-of therear legs'beingpivotfally con n-rcted by pivot pins '38 and 39 to hangers 40 and 41 suitably secured to the lower half of the casing. The universal joint "31 'is axially aligned with the pivot pins 38 and 39 so that th'ejlower end of the easing can be readily raised or lowered without interfering with the'driving of the drum.

"The lower end of the drum is adjustably supported "by an adjusting chain 42 which has one end permanently fastened-to one of the -iiont legs and the other end :passing into the torked end 43 of theotherJOf the -..+?1-ma:1@gs. a step i bare- 1- prevents i the chain from slipping up on theinclined face of the hopper 2. Obviously'by adjusting the chain, 1 can increase or decrease the inclination ofthe drum, the adjustment being made to accommodate the particular kind of grain being cleaned. 7 When the machine above described is to. be used' to clean grain such as wheat from wild seeds, the casing is adjusted by manip ulating the chain to whatever inclination the operator considers best for the grain to be cleaned. L hopper and starts the drum rotatin The grain has a natural tendency to ow.:by gravity downwardly towards the lower end thereo'l and in passage, it is arrested and worlgcdback by the plates 12 ean'dis thrown about by the heaters, the action ofth plates and heaters being such that thegrain is thoroughly agitated and spread with the result that the sniallersceds are givenevery opportunity to .clear out tln'ough' the .hols provided inthe screens, the saidholesbeing of such a size t-hatthey will retain Wheat. The seeds escaping through the holes from the drum are collected in the hopper E2: and discharged throughthe spout 3 whilstthose which are retained within the .drunr-ate cleared through the spout 5.. r

I have herein shown the holes in the screens astriangular in shape as such shape aerinits wild buckwheat to go through; It will, however, be understood that as the screens are demountable, one can readily substitute screens having different perforations therein, the type of screen used being selected by an experiencedoperatorto suit the work in hand.

'Tliis'type oi machine with ,slightanodifl cations, can also be :used 'for', separating wheat ifrein wild oat-s and-the smaller Iw'eed seeds and in such a case, the drum is providin Figures (3 and 7. In such a case, inner screen sections 45 having circular openings are substituted for those 21- andithen four screen sections 46 similar to those 21 but somewhat wider are provided to enclose thev inner screen-and form an outer screen drain surrounding and, spaced from the innerione. The bars 17,18, 19 and 20areprovided with jam screws 47 and the edges of the screen He then feedsthe grain into the ed with double screens such asshownbest' llU sections 46 are slotted at -l8to receive the *lVhen this type of maehineis usedjafimther chute 50 is provided at the lower endofnthe machine; to collect the grain dischargedfironi the lower end of the outer drum.

In this type of machine, the Wild cats will be retained within the inner drum and the smaller seeds and wheat will go through, then the smaller seeds will pass out through the perforations of the outer drum and wheat will be discharged from the lower end of the same. The wild cats will be receivcd in the chute 5, the wheat in the chute and the Weed seeds in the chute 3.

\Vhilst I have shown this machine supported on legs so that it can be used conveniently in a barn or such like place, I wish it to be noted that the machine can be readily mounted for use on a grain threshing machi no to receive the cleaned grain discharged tl'ierefron'i in which case, my machine will reclean that grain and discharge it through the chutes provided. .lVhen so used the separating machine will be )r0vided with suitable supports to carry my machine and flexible spouts will be provided to deliver the separated grains to suitable points of discharge.

hat 1 claim as my invention 1. A grain cleaning machine comprising in combination, a closure casing. a downwardly inclining perforated drum rotatably mounted within the casing, means for rotating the drum, spaced arresting plates crossing the drum and rotating therewith, said plates being provided with cut out portions providing escape openings between the plates and the drum shell, heaters extending be tween the plates and carried'by the drum shell, a hopper formed as part of the c sing and underlying the drum and adapted to gather and discharge the seeds escaping through the drum and a delivery chute extending from the casing and underlying the lower end of the drum and adapted to receive the grain discharging from the lower end. of the drum.

2. A grain cleaning machine comprising, in combination, a closure casing, a downwardly inclining perforated drum rotatably mounted within the casing, means for rotating the drum, spaced arresting plates crossin g the drum and having the ends thereof permanently secured to the drum and the edges thereof spaced from the drum to provide escape openings, the said escape openings in adjacent plates being alternated, boaters carried by the drum shell and extending lengthwise thereof and located between the plates, a hopper formed as part of the casing and underlying the drum and adapted to collectand discharge the seeds passing through the drum and a delivery chute underlying the lower end of the drum and adapted to receive the grain discharging from the lower end of the drum.

3. ln a grain cleaning machine, a rotatably mounted perforated grain cleaning drum contiprising a rotatably mounted shaft, similar suitably spaced plates secured to the shaft and extending radially therefrom, said plates presenting arcuate rim portions, a plurality of equi-spaced longitudinally extending bars peri'i'tanently secured to the rim portions of the plates, similar arcuate screen sections concentric to the shaft and interposed between the bars and bearing on the rim portions of the plates, bolts detachably secur ing the edges of the screens to the bars and longitudinally extending heaters located between the plates and carried by the screens.

4. In a grain cleaning machine, in combination, a rotatably mounted shaft, a cyli.n drical, perforated drum concentrically mounted on the shaft, a plurality of spaced plates secured to the shaft and having their ends terminating in rim portions secured to the drum and the edges thereof arranged in respect to the drum to provide escape openings therebetween, said plates being alternated and having the rim portions thereof radially slit and bent to provide paddles and beater-s interposed between the plates and secured to the drum.

$igned at WVinnipeg this 27th day of May, 1926.

WILLIAM H. CHURCH. 

